Elite Christians, whose piety was based on words and the Roman love of rhetoric, wanted to eliminate icons for fear that illiterate masses might take over the church. Complicating the class issue was the emergence of Islam in the East, with its strict prohibition against images of every sort. Leaders hoped to mute Islam's challenge to the faith by curbing the abuse of icons among lower classes. (A People's History of Christianity, by Diana Butler Bass, p. 103)This short passage from Bass's book brings to mind two things going on in the Anglican Communion and also in our own parish.
The first has to do with the presence of Islam in Africa, which is one of the reasons many of the African provinces of the Communion give when they cannot accept gays and lesbians as members of the church, let alone of society. Because Islam forbids homosexual activity, the argument goes, Christianity cannot be seen to be "less strict" than Islam.
The second has to do with my own parish. As we continue our discussions with the people of Iglesia Betania, it is becoming increasingly clear that we are dealing not only with issues of culture, but also of class. And it isn't just a matter of a bunch of upper middle class white folks not able to cope with all the differences between themselves and "others." Unfortunately, it works both ways. If we want to become one community in this corner of God's creation, then we are going to have to learn to see God in each other--in each and every one of us.
Peace,
Jeff
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